Turtle exhibit, two rides open at SeaWorld San Antonio

1of11An immersive sea turtle exhibit and two new rides debut Friday, May 3, 2019 at SeaWorld San Antonio.Photo: Courtesy of SeaWorld San Antonio

2of11An immersive sea turtle exhibit and two new rides debut Friday, May 3, 2019 at SeaWorld San Antonio.Photo: Courtesy of SeaWorld San Antonio

3of11An immersive sea turtle exhibit and two new rides debut Friday, May 3, 2019 at SeaWorld San Antonio.Photo: Courtesy of SeaWorld San Antonio

4of11Click through the gallery above for new rides and attractions at Sea World San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.Photo: FILE

5of11Ihu's Breakaway Falls, the tallest multi-tower drop slide in Texas, according to the company, will open March 9.Photo: Sea World San Antonio

6of11Renderings show one of Sea World San Antonio's newest rides, Sea Swinger. Currently under construction, the ride is slated to open the first week of May, the company said.Photo: Sea World San Antonio

7of11Renderings show one of Sea World San Antonio's newest rides, Riptide Rescue, which is slated to open the first week of May, the company said.Photo: Sea World San Antonio

8of11Renderings show Sea World San Antonio's Turtle Reef, an interactive sea turtle attraction set to open the first week of May. Photo: Sea World San Antonio

10of11Six Flags Entertainment Corp. plans to open The Joker Wild Card, a 17-story pendulum ride, at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in time for its 2019 summer season. Find more details and pictures on our original story here.Photo: Courtesy/Six Flags Fiesta Texas / Courtesy/Six Flags Fiesta Texas

11of11Six Flags Fiesta Texas' new ride, Pirates of the Deep Sea, was unveiled to Diamond Membership Pass holders on Jan. 1. Riders are armed with their own musket as they attempt to traverse through the storms of the Bermuda Triangle in their weathered ship, the Man-o-War. Find more pictures of the new ride on our full story here.Photo: Courtesy Six Flags Fiesta Texas

An immersive sea turtle exhibit and two new rides debut Friday at SeaWorld San Antonio.

At Turtle Reef, visitors can get an up-close look at endangered and rescued tea turtles and fish, including Big Mama, a 250-pound loggerhead sea turtle that was rescued in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 126,000-gallon habitat is designed with a biofiltration system intended to cut down on water and energy use at the park.

One of the new rides, Sea Swinger, catapults visitors through the air on a pendulum. Riptide Rescue spins them around as they set off on a sea-turtle rescue mission.

Another ride, Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, the tallest drop slide in Texas, opened at SeaWorld earlier this year.

Construction of the turtle exhibit, Riptide Rescue and Sea Swinger was estimated to cost around $2.9 million, the Express-News reported previously. SeaWorld anticipated spending $4 million on Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

About 5 percent of proceeds from certain turtle-themed merchandise go to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute’s Amos Rehabilitation Keep. The nonprofit organization that works to rescue and rehabilitate turtles, birds and tortoises found along the South Texas coast.

SeaWorld has been adding new rides and exhibits frequently as it tries to rebrand in the wake of “Blackfish,” a 2013 documentary film that negatively portrayed the company’s treatment of orcas. The company has pledged $175 million to new rides, events and exhibits.

For the theme-park operator, the early numbers are encouraging. SeaWorld posted a profit of $44.8 million in fiscal 2018, following a net loss of $202.4 million the previous year, and attendance rose 8.6 percent to 22.6 million visitors.

But the company laid off an undisclosed number of employees in April after also cutting jobs in August. A spokesperson declined to say whether the April cuts affected workers at SeaWorld San Antonio.

“Like most companies, we regularly evaluate operations to ensure we are properly organized for performance and efficiency,” the spokesperson said. “As part of those ongoing efforts, SeaWorld has eliminated a limited number of positions.”

Madison Iszler covers manufacturing, technology and other business topics for the San Antonio Express-News.

Before joining the Express-News, Madison covered retail, small businesses and other topics at the Albany Times Union and worked on a project about Social Security disability benefits. She also worked as a general assignment reporter at the Raleigh News & Observer and wrote a two-part series about the state’s farm workers.